Karaoke Forums

I dropped off a proposal to a local place last week. I am already working there once a month but thought I would pursue additional gigs there. In that packet, as an afterthought, I enclosed two other "flyers" that I prepared - one relating to Christmas parties, the other just a more generic "KJ/DJ" flyer.

Today I received a call from a woman who works with charities. She had found the venue I am dealing with on Craigslist, where I placed an ad for our kids' karaoke show. Through that ad, the owner of the venue very happily passed on our name. We are now booked to do a New Year's Eve very small, quiet party at Ronald McDonald House - where families of children being treated for cancer reside while their children are in the hospital. I would have done it for nothing...but they insisted on paying double what I suggested to them as a reasonable fee. This involves karaoke from 7:30 to 9 p.m. on New Year's Eve.

We usually stay home on NYE but I feel honored to be participating in this event. Somebody was asking about promoting on Craigslist recently - the proof of this pudding lies in the eating.

Great for you. Glad it's worked out. I think it's fantastic your doing it for such a great foundation like McDonalds House. Not to mention when something that big wants you, it's got to be a great feeling as well.

Karen, I sent you a PM about this

Excellent Job Karen. Funny how some random advertising can pay off more than just monetarily. The emotional benefits will far outweigh the money for sure.

I have worked for The Ronald McDonald House before in Washington DC making several guest apprearances as the "White Power Ranger" in the early 90's. I did a short tour with the original Power Rangers and got to hang out with them and ride in their limo. (i was the stand-in for the white ranger as he was busy with his business and couldn't do this tour).

Meeting so many beautiful children who overwhelmingly responded to the hugs and kisses, albeit from a "superhero", was an experience i will never forget. The happiness and joy in their eyes....WOW.

And it made me want to do more. Soon after that event, my friends and i joined Toys-For-Tots and volunteered for feeding the homeless at Thanksgiving in a DC soup kitchen. Very humbling and very rewarding.

I am happy that some volunteers or workers for these non-profit companies scour sites like craigslist for the chance they may find QUALITY services like yours that are willing to give them a break in price because of your kindness.

In my opinion, you GOTTA GIVE BACK and show thanks by giving to others not as fortunate as you.
Fulfill anothers need and you'll unwittingly fulfill several of your own..

Yes, Dan, I got your PM, I do have an arrangement with them. They must have contacted me after they contacted you. As I do children's shows and have for years, I believe it was important for them to have someone who is very child oriented. Oh, I also speak Spanish, btw, and I guess more than half the children and families are of Hispanic descent.

I was also very careful not to hang them to dry with my price - I am honored they would ask me and my price to them reflected that, although she offered me double what I initially quoted. I would imagine this will be one of those recurring seasonal gigs - I have several of those. I get called back every year to do holiday events. I really enjoy them. I know this one will be extra special. My husband and I try to get involved in charity events whenever we can so this will be the cream for us.

Karen, glad to hear that you're all locked in with them. Over the years I've had my share of prospects who assured me on the phone that it was a done deal, then when I called to get my signed contract sent, was told they "made other arrangements". Just wanted to make sure you weren't spinning your wheels.

But I feel I have to comment on your inference that my quote of $695, was somehow "hanging them to dry". (My regular New Year's gig price is $1195.)


Perhaps if you initially quoted $200, I could see where they might have already budgeted for more and just decided to give you that full amount. Even charities have event budgets. I've done many charity events where they pleaded for a discount, and I gave it to them. Then I found that all the other vendors like the caterer, other entertainers like face painters and balloon artists, promo specialty company (water bottles, T-shirts), etc. asked for - and got paid - their full price. What a slap in my face! The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again" (complete with primal scream) comes to mind.

Part of that I believe is that little value is placed on KJs or DJs - because there are so many of them who'll work for cheap or the exposure - or that someone's sense of charity will kick in and they'll do it for less. I don't doubt that your affinity for kids and multilingual skills were part of you getting this gig, but I'm betting it was primarily your price.

A couple of New Year's Eves ago, I was hired to do a small dance party at a group home for disabled adults. They didn't blink an eye at my quoted price, especially given that it was on New Years and they had the budget for it. In subsequent years, they hired me (again at full price) to entertain at several larger December parties for all their group homes.

I don't discount the warm fuzzy of helping out a charity, and I'm happy to do so on a Tuesday in March - not New Year's Eve.

Hope the gig turns out well...let us know how it went!

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[font=Lucida Console]DangerousKaraoke.com[/font]
[font=Lucida Console]"Sing for the day, sing for the moment, sing for the time of your life!"[/font]

Karen, I want to commend you on your contribution to the people at the Ronald McDonald House. I think you will get it back in spades. Just to know that you made some poor children's (and their family's) New Years Eve a little better. Kudo's to you and your husband.

Dan, I think it is very callous of you to quote $695 for an HOUR AND A HALF GIG, at a place where people don't even know if their loved one will be alive the next day. I would have respected you if you had turned them down outright, but to quote that type of price (to me) is just WRONG. But as they always say, "What goes around, comes around." It's obvious to me that your philosophy is "Money Talks".

Srnitynow

I certainly don't give it away EVER...even to friends. I value my service; however, in this case, even if it is NYE (I don't ever work NYE because I don't want to be around a bunch of drunks who are potential DUIs), it is a special event for me. I have a day job, too, and do a lot of other private things as well as my regular weeknight gigs, so in reality, I probably would not have gone after a NYE gig anyway. This is a really nice bonus for me, and yes, I have a feeling it will come back in spades Srnity. I appreciate your comments.

I agree with you that it appear that "money" is the total incentive for Dan. I for myself would probably either not charged, or donated most if not all of my take right back to the charity. Rarely do I even expect to get a slightly larger amount for big holidays such as NYE or Halloween, but then again, I usually book my big parties like that almost a year in advance.

Karen, this is from the bottom of my heart to you and your hubbie!! Way to go!! and Good luck!

Of course a lot of people dont do the KJing for just the money, especially at benefit shows.

If you can turn KJing into a full time job that supports you, more power to you but that does not mean that a lot of KJs don't do it primaraly for fun and personal satisfaction.

If you do charge a very high rate of course expect customers to shop around and find other people who may be willing to do it for less.

It takes some money to purchase a good karaoke rig, but so do a lot of other hobbies.

The way I view it my hobby is being a KJ, I don't expect to break even on my investment any time soon.

By making it a hobby and not a job I get to choose when I do or don't do gigs. I wont do gigs I don't think I will enjoy even if paid, but I do do many free gigs for friends or friend's causes.

Dan: They gave me the entire amount that was budgeted for the event - she told me what it was straight out when I asked her (obviously they didn't have $695 budgeted for an hour and a half of kids' karaoke). I believe that the main reason was my history with kids. Whatever the reason, I'll be doing just fine for driving 25 miles, doing an hour and a half show, finishing at 9 p.m., home by 10 p.m. on NYE, and with a few bucks in my pocket. Sounds like a dream gig to me!

Wow, try and do a good deed by insuring Karen had her gig locked up, and I get this?

Calm down, people! To each their own. You want to contribute your time for free, that's cool. You want to price yourself at a couple of hundred bucks for a show, in the name of "charity", that's cool too. As for my pricing, to me it doesn't matter if the show is an hour or four hours; it's based on up to four hours. Still the same amount of time in travel, set up and tear down. Still my same investment of thousands of dollars in pro gear and music which the audience is benefiting from.

Yes, I will unapologetically say this is a business for me, not a hobby. My hobby is karaoke singing, not working as a host. As such, I treat it like any business which offers professional services at a professional rate.

But I know better for those who play the "do it for the children" card.

According to the last Ronald McDonald House required IRS filing, the organization nationally spent over 5.6 MILLION dollars in "Management and administration" and Fundraising and 21.5 MILLION dollars on "Program Services".

More specifically, the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Western Washington & Alaska only gives 19 cents of every dollar they raise to their needy kids, earning them only 2 of 4 stars from the Charity Navigator site.

Where's the other 81 cents of every dollar raised going? To pay vendors and services! It's not about karma, it's about knowing the facts.

Something tells me that charging a fair price for a professional entertainer on New Year's Eve won't make or break Mayor McCheese or leave a sick kid out in the gutter.

Again, I've either experienced first hand or known of other DJ's and KJ's donating all or part of their fee to some "charity" when everyone else got paid full price. (Some American Cancer Society "Relay For Life" events come to mind.)

I did a karaoke party last summer for the support organization of the local VA Hospital. They also rented a Ben & Jerry's ice cream wagon and bought one of those arty cakes that looks like it's upside down. Despite the fact that there were all of 30 people there, they made a point of having a photographer there to take a bunch of PR photos for their website and annual report. I'll bet the ice cream, cake and photographer got paid more than I did.

Bottom line? While it might SOUND good, "charity" is not all it seems.

I'm not Scrooge! Yes, I give my fair share to the charities I choose in cash. Did you know that you cannot legally deduct donated services from your taxes, nor can you "trade checks"? I pick the charities I want to give to and when I want to give them.

What's under my tree for my family this year is being paid for with the money I earned for treating my DJ and KJ work not as a hobby, but a business.

God bless us everyone!

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[font=Lucida Console]DangerousKaraoke.com[/font]
[font=Lucida Console]"Sing for the day, sing for the moment, sing for the time of your life!"[/font]

I've donated my services to a couple charities. All I've ever asked is that when I do they sign a receipt saying I donated my services with a value equal to that of my regular fee for that type of gig. I then deduct any expenses incurred as a result of the gig. Also, for those that actually understand the intricacies of accounting systems, you're well aware that there is a certain intangible but recorded value that can be placed on good will. Being listed as the official Karaoke provider for charity X and helping people have a good time and showing that you have a heart made of something other than selfish greed goes a long way. I've booked a fair number of private gigs just by doing those charity events, so it works out well for everyone.

Yes I'm in this business to make money. I'm also in it to have fun. However regardless of my motivations, I'm still a human being. If I can help someone out, great, I want to do that. I don't what the other vendors got paid, I don't think less of them for getting paid and I don't feel slighted that I'm working for free when they're not. For me it's simply about doing the right thing. I have been very fortunate in life to be able to invest money in this business and do what I love to do. Why shouldn't I look for every opportunity to share those blessings with others regardless of monetary compensation?

I don't see that it has any indication on how I value my service. My fees make it pretty clear the value that I place on my services. Just because I choose to make a big discount for a friend who needs to save money on their wedding, or provide free service for a charity helping those less fortunate than me, doesn't mean I don't value what I do.

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DJ Tony
Let It Rip Karaoke

Tony, very well said. Exactly how I feel. Thanks

This extends to other endeavors also.

I am also a professional photographer.

For the past 5 years I have been the primary photographer for the Oregon Special Olympics at THE BITE OF OREGON(Big state supported food and wine festival as a fundraiser for the SOOR--u can see alot of the pics Ive shot there on my photo myspace site). They use my photos for the website(www.thebiteoforegon.com), after event reports, prospectus's, ad brochures, presentations to new sponsors, newspaper ads, etc. They have a budget of $100/day for photographers. I am there all 3 days of the event. I can either take the 300 or do it for "FREE" and take a charitable contribution TAX WRITE-OFF letter for which I can SET MY OWN AMOUNT(usually 4-5 times that amount) which I then can claim off my taxes at the end of the year. I do this arrangement also for the WATERFRONT BLUES FESTIVAL and The Oregon Food Bank. Again this results in a FAR GREATER YIELD on my end and helps them out with the product/services I provide "FREE" that they need and ARE EXCEEDINGLY GRATEFUL TO GET. In fact those entire events are operated by nothing but volunteers---the only ones getting paid are the Entertainers, portable toilets, food vendors and stage rental equipment companies.

They RESPECT AND MORE THAN RECOGNIZE THE VALUE OF THE SERVICES I PROVIDE and I feel more than fairly compensated. Everyone is content and eveyones needs are met.

From my perspective I take it as a PRIVELEDGE to even be ALLOWED to be working these kind of big-time events and meet the people I do there and make the kind of contacts I get from them. It leads to ALL KINDS OF OPPORTUNITIES(like hooking up and becoming Staff Photographer with DELTA GROOVE PRODUCTIONS-www.deltagrooveproductions.com)

So I'm VERY HAPPY WITH THE MONETARY compensation---------not to mention the RESUME VALUE and PHOTO CREDIT VALUE that it affords me.

The same goes for doing a Karaoke show benefit of this kind.

I'm GLAD to do an event for "Free" or within the organization's budget where eveyone benefits and its a legitamate cause for all the reasons listed.

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"You know that I sing the Blues and I do not suffer fools. When I'm on that silver mic, it's gonna cut ya, just like a knife"-The SWINGCAT

I am no tax lawyer, but to donate a service at a set rate for tax purposes I would imagine that you would first have to declare it as income at the same rate before you can declare it as a deduction.

So donation of services should be a net zero for tax purposes. I imagine you can probably deduct some of your COSTS of providing the services (ie transportation costs, and some fracton of the equipment involved). But again I am no tax lawyer.

No, long ago the government ruled you can't deduct the value of volunteer time donated. This makes incredible sense when you think about it.


Yes, you can count mileage, supplies, etc.

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[color=#ffff55]Mickey J.[/color]
Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Ive been getting and using the tax deductions from it for the past 5 years with no problems---and thats with taking and having taxes done.

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"You know that I sing the Blues and I do not suffer fools. When I'm on that silver mic, it's gonna cut ya, just like a knife"-The SWINGCAT

If i'm not mistaken here, I think it's a matter of wording. Did you get "paid" for services, and then donate said income to the charity/benefit? or did you volunteer services? Really are the same thing, but with different outcomes. If you are "paid" for services rendered, add them to your yearly income, and then donate the same amount, then it's sort of a wash. Rather than volunteer time which has NO tax benefits. Get a receipt for "services rendered" and you can claim on taxes as donated.

Yes, and then there is the normal business expenses: food, gas, phone, travel, special clothing, etc. The laws allow for all kinds of deductions.

You can try it, and you may well get away with it. But if no money actually changed hands, and you were audited and it was caught, it would be disallowed and there would be a penalty.

I would be surprised if an accountant would suggest that, too, because they could get in serious trouble were they to encourage clients to do things like that. Paperwork fiddles like that are not allowed for good reason -- they subvert the intent of the law.

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[color=#ffff55]Mickey J.[/color]
Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.